County Firefighters Convention called off
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - County and Ringtown Valley Fire Co. officials gather to announce the cancellation of the 66th Annual Firefighters Convention. From L-R: Fire Chief Joseph Gilbert Jr.; Capt. Mariana Gorski-Gilbert; Commissioners Chair Barron "Boots" Hetherington; Commissioner George Halcovage; SCVFA President David Sattizhan.
RINGTOWN – The 66th annual Schuylkill County Volunteer Firefighters Convention has been cancelled, the convention committee announced today.
“It’s been a tough two months, working with this outfit, trying to get through all of the COVID restrictions and everything that we needed to do to try to get this convention off the floor, and we’ve been encouraging them for the last two months strongly,” David Sattizhan, Schuylkill County Volunteer Firefighters Association President, said Thursday at the Ringtown firehouse.
The firefighters convention was to be held in Ringtown with a parade on August 22.
Sattizhan said that the organizers had been in contact with legislators, commissioners, among others for guidance to keep the event on track.
“It’s not easy for a small town to put on a convention like this,” Sattizhan said. “We made a decision last evening to postpone this year’s convention.”
Sattizhan said the firefighters association is working with the Ringtown Valley Fire Company to ease the financial burden.
“I think we’ve done everything that we could possibly to do try to have it,” Sattizhan said. “There’s a lot of pride, tradition in Schuylkill County, so for us to cancel, it’s kind of tough,” noting that it’s only the second cancellation in the 66-year history of the convention.
Up until the meeting and vote yesterday, Sattizhan said, the convention was still on as planned.
“I’m disappointed, but I’m also proud, because you’re doing the right thing because of safety,” Commissioners Chairman Barron “Boots” Hetherington, said, recalling his reaction when he received word the convention was cancelled. “Each week, the Governor changes the rules and regulations as to how we’re to operate… When it changes that fast, how can you make plans?”
Hetherington lives in the fire company’s “first due” area, in the village of Pattersonville, Union Township, and expressed his appreciation for the volunteers, noting two responses to his farm.
Commissioner George Halcovage also commended the rural fire company for stepping up and offering to host a convention typically held in the larger communities of the county — Shenandoah, Mahanoy City, Pottsville, Tamaqua, and the like.
“The fact is that, even during COVID times, you were willing to take that step and make it work,” Halcovage said.
Next year’s convention will be held in Minersville the week of Sept. 5 through Sept. 11.
Mariana Gorski-Gilbert, chair of the convention committee and captain with the Ringtown Valley Fire Co., said that the company is looking to host a convention in the near future if a year is open, and that the company is also exploring the opportunity of a mug night for firefighters association members next Spring.
In the meantime, commemorative mugs for the 2020 convention, already printed and in stock in bulk, are available for sale for $10 each, defraying the costs incurred in planning the convention.
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